The Championship leader takes his second win of the year as drama unfolds at the final corner in the fight for the podium
Zen Mitani continued his scorching early season form in Race 1 as the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup field returned to action in Malaysia – and what a race it was. The title chase leader fended off his rivals to win for a second time this season, as Ryota Ogiwara and Riichi Takahira claimed P2 and P3.
Mitani launched from pole position but the holeshot would go to home hero Farish Hafiy, with the latter boasting a healthy 0.8s lead at the end of Lap 1. That soon vanished though, with both Seiryu Ikegami and Takahira taking turns leading in the opening few laps, as six riders initially broke clear in a fascinating fight for Race 1 victory.
Having served his Long Lap penalty which was handed to him in Qatar, Hafiy dropped to P11 and 3.6s off the lead, with the front running pack now formed of seven riders with seven laps to go. It was as you were heading into the final three laps, with Ogiwara now holding the P1 baton – but Mitani and Ikegami hunting close.
On the penultimate lap, Mitani got some breathing space at the front as Ikegami nearly highsided out of contention from P2. However, heading onto the last lap, Mitani’s advantage was back to nothing but the #2 managed to stretch it back to 0.5s halfway around the lap. That gap was held throughout the rest of the lap as Mitani claimed victory, with drama unfolding at the final corner as Ikegami crashed unhurt from the second place.
Ogiwara and Takahira made it an all-Japanese podium in Race 1, as Kiandra Ramadhipa finished 0.9s off the win in P4. Fifth place went to Kiattisak Singhapong, as Rintaro Takemoto rounded out the top six that crossed the line just 1.6s apart.
Hafiy managed to climb his way back up to P7, with the Malaysian finishing ahead of Sarthak Chavan, Alfonsi Daquigan and Levi Russo, as the latter trio completed the top 10.
Race 2 gets underway at 12:05 local time (UTC +8) on Sunday at the Sepang International Circuit, and you can watch how that unfolds on YouTube.
